


In All Things

by TheNarator



Series: Siren of the Sky [1]
Category: Temeraire - Naomi Novik
Genre: Dark, Laurence is a precious cinnamon bun and everybody who matters knows it, Lien thinks Napoleon wants Laurence for a pet, Napoleon just wants to be besties, Obsession, Other, Possessive Behavior, from Lien's perspective anyway, which of them sees the situation more clearly is up to you
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-21
Updated: 2015-04-21
Packaged: 2018-03-25 02:54:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,143
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3794014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheNarator/pseuds/TheNarator
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Lien doesn't want to bond with Napoleon but does anyway, Napoleon is obsessed with Laurence in a very dragon-like way, and Laurence inadvertently causes the French occupation of Britain just by being his adorable precious cinnamon bun self.</p>
            </blockquote>





	In All Things

Lien watched the face of her new charge (not her companion, never her companion, her companion was a Prince with the blood of ancient Kings, not a mere man who declared himself an Emperor, however charismatic) as Temeraire and his 'captain' disappeared over the horizon.

"I feel as though I have sent my favorite dog to a slaughterhouse," he confessed, wearing a rare expression of wistfulness. Napoleon was almost never wistful; if he wanted something he took it.

"You needn't have let him go, if you wished to keep him," she pointed out. And if such a thing would have given her the best possible view of Temeraire's suffering as his territory was overrun and his riches were replaced with unearned presents, hollow and devoid of victory, so much the better.

"He was not my pet, Lien," he protested, disdainful but not angry. "I might have kept him here by force, but it would not have been the same as persuading him to stay."

"It would have pleased you though, to call him your pet," she prodded. She was this man's ally, nothing more, they had made it clear from the beginning that their cooperation was mutually beneficial and that was all there was too it. Still, to see him unhappy was . . . uncomfortable. She did not see what was so special about Temeraire's companion that his foolish desire to have himself killed should have circumvented the will of an Emperor.

"It would have pleased me to call him _mine_ ," he corrected, and there was a note of dragonish desire, possessive and protective, in his voice. "My soldier, my supporter, my friend. If I had a man of such honor on my counsel I would never know doubt again."

This statement surprised her. "You do not doubt your convictions." It wasn't a question, she knew the answer already. "I know this better than anyone."

"My convictions, no," he replied. "My morals, never. My methods . . . upon occasion." Here a shadow of something crossed his face, dark and draining, making him look older than he ought. It took Lien a moment to realize that it was, in fact, doubt. Napoleon, who had always seemed the very incarnation of passion and fearlessness, was somehow doubting himself.

"Madness and genius do look so very much alike."

"But, you think Captain Laurence can tell the difference," she concluded, something ugly in her voice. It could not have been jealousy, she was sure, this man was not hers and she would not want him to be. Perhaps it was merely that her voice was finally becoming as ugly as the rest of her.

Napoleon shook his head, in incredulity rather than denial, as he kept his eyes fixed longingly on the horizon. "He is a man of honor, of moral fiber the likes of which I have hardly ever seen. He would not flatter me, would never tell me that I am right to benefit his causes or secure his advancement. If he condoned my plans it would be because they were sound, tactically and morally."

"And yet, he does not." Her voice was sharper than she'd meant it, a jab where none was necessary. She wondered why.

Suddenly Napoleon grew agitated, eyes shifting to stare unseeingly at the ground as he took up his old habit of pacing and muttering to himself.

"He does not understand them," he insisted, with the same harshness, steel and fire, in his voice as when he spoke about politics and progress and the way things used to be in France. He had found something to argue, and he could argue from one midnight to the next and longer without stopping, even if his only opponent was himself. "He did not get the chance to understand them. I went too fast, tried to explain while he was miserable and in despair. I should have waited!"

"I have told you before you rely too much on your charisma," Lien reminded him. It was a weakness she had often feared would be exploited, but thus far his mere presence seemed to hypnotize all around him with no apparent effort on his own part.

He waved her off. "My gift of persuasion has no power against a man who cannot be seduced," he said, frustrated and resentful. "And now, he is gone forever."

"You are so certain of his fate?" Lien asked. "Recall, he has a Celestial for his companion."

"The British parliament are a pack of oligarchs and tyrants," he spat the words, as familiar now to Lien as Napoleon's own name. "They cannot abide a challenge to their authority; they will see his decision only as treason, and they will put him to death. He is loyal to them. He will let them."

"The world will be darker for his loss," she said sarcastically.

"You joke, but it is true," he insisted, voice rising. "They will not be satisfied until they put out every such light, and plunge their nation into darkness."

Lien thought for a moment. It was not unreasonable for an Emperor to have his pets. There were too many stories to count about Emperors of China and their favorite concubines, and she knew of many dragons who had human companions but still formed attachments to other humans, not as precious as the first and foremost but beloved all the same. If Napoleon wanted Laurence as a trinket, a sort of toy for his amusement, then she could hardly begrudge him for it. It occurred to her suddenly that such a degrading position as the Emperor's kept distraction, a tame creature whose sole purpose was to boost the ego of his former enemy, would have been abhorred for Laurence's sake by Temeraire. The thought gave her great pleasure.

"In that case, it seems your next move is obvious," she said, standing up and stretching her wings. "You must stop this, stop them. Strike them while they are weak. If he is a loyal citizen of England, claim England for your own, and him with it. He cannot refuse you in favor of his King if you are one and the same."

"He can, I assure you," Napoleon protested, but it was not a protest meant to deter her, merely to point out an obstacle that needed to be overcome. "But it will give me more _time_ , and time is what is most sorely needed."

"To make him see that you are right?" she asked.

He shook his head. "To make him see that _he_ is right, and that it is those ignoble bastards that are wrong."

"Then, the way forward is clear," she prompted, and her charge whirled to face her, eyes alight with the expectation of battle.

"In all ways, my dear," he said delightedly, face a window into his brilliant, disorderly mind, already churning away with new ideas. "In all ways."

**Author's Note:**

> I just love the idea of Napoleon standing so in awe of Laurence that he becomes obsessed with him. Not in like a sexual or romantic way (although that might be fun) but in a very dragon-like, this-person-is-mine kinda way. He has this idea that Laurence is Moral with a capital M, therefore if he can convince Laurence that he's right then what Napoleon is doing must be Moral.


End file.
